Naruto the Swift Blade
by dragonicdevil
Summary: This story takes place after the mission in the Land of Waves. Naruto who is depressed over how weak he was against Haku gets trained by Kakashi. Stronger and somewhat smarter Naruto.
1. Realization! The training begins

Naruto the Swift Blade

 **This is a Naruto story that takes place a little after the battle against Zabusa and Haku, Naruto is troubled about how useless he was in the battle against Haku, so Kakashi decides to help him get stronger, this will be about a stronger and somewhat smarter Naruto, don't own any of the characters.**

Chapter 1- Realization! The training begins

Naruto Uzumaki was lying on his back on his bed in his orange and blue jacket with his orange pants while he looked up at his ceiling. He had a box of instant ramen standing on the table in his kitchen, however he wasn't really feeling hungry which was rare for him.

He closed his eyes and sighed, he and his team which was made up of Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha as well as their sensei Kakashi Hatake had just returned from their mission in the Land of Waves where they were to protect the bridge builder Tazuna while he completed his bridge so they wouldn't have to rely on the corrupted business man Gato who was also a drug dealer smuggler.

Gato, desperate to stop the bridge from being finished, hired the rouge ninja Zabusa Momochi, also known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist, who was a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

He narrowed his eyes, _Kakashi Sensei almost finished Zabusa off during our first encounter with him, however we never expected that he would have an ally nearby, if Haku hadn't been there to save him, then we wouldn't have had so much trouble later on_.

Naruto got a sad expression on his face when he remembered the boy that looked like a cute girl Haku who had long black hair, he had been an enemy, even so he had on purpose not killed Sasuke even though he could've done that and only made it look like he died.

Naruto got a troubled expression on his face, he felt troubled over how powerless he had been against Haku, he knew he needed to get stronger since he didn't want to feel how he felt when he believed that Sasuke had died in his arms ever again.

He then sighed and sat up on his bed, "Lying here won't do anything good, I might as well take a walk in order to clear my head a little". Naruto then got up on his feet and walked over to his door and opened it and then walked out of his apartment.

A LITTLE WHILE LATER,

Naruto was walking through the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, his birth home in the evening. He looked down on the street in front of him as he continued walking while he was in deep thoughts. He then noticed how a man who looked like he was in his late thirties glared at him with hatred and disgust.

Naruto looked around himself and saw how a few more men and women looked at him either with hatred or fear. He looked down at his feet and sighed, he was pretty used to those looks by now since he had been getting them for as long as he could remember.

He narrowed his eyes, he had always wondered why everyone had always looked at him like that before, however then, a former Sensei at the Ninja Academy, Mizuki had tricked him to steal the sacred Scroll of Sealing, which he later find out contained techniques that had been placed in it by the very first Hokage and was forbidden because they were too dangerous if not used correctly.

Mizuki had told Naruto that if he could master a jutsu from that scroll then he would be allowed to graduate from the academy since he had just failed the graduation exam for the third time.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, angry at himself for believing what Mizuki had told him, however he had been desperate to graduate from the academy in order to fulfill his dream to become Hokage and gain the approval of everyone in the village.

He later then learned the truth about the scroll from his favorite teacher at the academy, Iruka, who had arrived where Naruto had been hiding while he practiced just in time to save Naruto from Mizuki who had tried to kill him.

Mizuki had then revealed to Naruto that the third Hokage who had retaken the position after the fourth Hokage's death 12 years ago had made a law around that time which forbid people to talk about something, which he then had revealed was the fact that the spirit of the Nine-Tailed Fox that had almost destroyed their village 12 years ago was inside of him.

Naruto narrowed his eyes a little more, _At that time, I didn't want to believe what Mizuki was telling me, I didn't want to believe that the Nine-Tailed Fox was trapped inside of me, however like he pointed out, it would explain why the people of the village looks at me with either hate, disgust or fear, also Iruka Sensei didn't deny it either. Also there is that time during the battle with Haku when I thought Sasuke died, when I felt an incredible power well up from inside of me_.

Naruto then got a small smile on his face when he thought back to when Iruka had told Mizuki how he was a hard worker and always tried his best and that he was nothing like the Nine-Tails, "If Iruka Sensei hadn't said that about me at that time, I might've given in to the darkness in my heart".

Naruto then walked past someone, however he didn't notice since he was still looking down at the ground, however he then got shocked when he heard a familiar voice call out to him, "Naruto, is something wrong?"

Naruto turned his head around and saw that the man he had just walked past was his sensei with spiky silver hair that had covered his left eye with his Leaf Village headband, Kakashi Hatake.

Naruto then noticed that Kakashi had his Make-Out book in his hand, he looked at Kakashi with a smile, "Still reading that book Kakashi Sensei? I've seen the books from the Make-Out series in the book store here in the village, and they seem pretty boring to me".

Kakashi looked which page he was at before he closed the book and placed it in his pouch and walked over to Naruto, "We all have different taste Naruto, as for me, I find them quite enjoyable, now then, could you tell me what's troubling you?"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock for a second before he got a troubled smile on his face as he turned towards him, "What are you talking about Kakashi Sensei? I'm not troubled, I'm the same as always". As to emphasis what he said he waved arms up and down.

Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's right shoulder, "Naruto, I know I only recently became your Sensei, however I've been long enough to see that you've been troubled by something these past few days since we got back from the Land of Waves, so please tell me".

Naruto looked at him shocked before he got a troubled expression on his face and then a few seconds later he nodded his head.

A LITTLE WHILE LATER,

Naruto and Kakashi sat on a park bench, Kakashi looked at Naruto, "I see, you've been troubled over how little you could do against Haku. Well was around high level chunin level or even jonin level ninja, Zabusa said that Haku was stronger than himself, however since I never fought him I can't know, however with his ability to use hand signs with one hand as well as his Ice Style, he might actually have been stronger than Zabusa, so you shouldn't be too troubled about it, to begin with that mission was too high level to begin with, but it helped you guys learn a lot".

Naruto looked down at the ground with a depressed expression on his face, "Even so, I felt so useless in that fight, not only couldn't I do anything but I also passed out because of the damage I took, if Haku had really tried to kill us, then both Sasuke and I would've died that day".

Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "You can't blame yourself for that Naruto, both you and Sasuke had just recently become genins where Haku was probably jonin level like I mentioned earlier".

Naruto didn't say anything and continued to have a depressed expression on his face, Kakashi looked at him with a troubled expression before he suddenly got an idea, "Naruto, go to the training grounds where I tested you guys to see if you were ready to become ninjas and wait for me there, I just need to get something".

Naruto looked up at him confused, "The training grounds? But Sensei, it's evening now, and we have a mission tomorrow".

Kakashi looked at him, "It's not that late yet, so we should have some time before we need to get to bed, I'm just going to confirm something, and once I have confirmed it, I will know what I need to in order to make you stronger".

Naruto quickly jumped up on his feet and turned around and looked at Kakashi with an excited expression on his face, "Really! Awesome, I'll go there right away, and then I'll wait there for you until morning if I have to considering your habit of always being late, believe it!" Naruto then ran to get to the training grounds so fast that a dust cloud formed behind him.

Kakashi looked after him before he chuckled, "He sure is a knucklehead, even so he's an interesting kid, I have faith that he will be able to become a powerful ninja in the future, after all…" He looked up in the sky, "He's your son after all, Minato Sensei". He then got up on his feet and walked towards his apartment in order to get what he needed.

A LITTLE WHILE LATER,

Naruto was leaning against the wooden pole that he had been tied to during the bell test that team 7 had taken, he had now waited for Kakashi for 15 minutes and was hoping that Kakashi would come soon.

Naruto then heard footsteps coming towards him from the right, he turned his head to his right and saw Kakashi walking towards him. Naruto quickly ran towards Kakashi with an excited expression on his face, "Let's get started Kakashi Sensei!"

Kakashi chuckled and gave Naruto a one-eyed smile, "Very well, but like I said before, first we need to confirm something before we begin". Kakashi opened his pouch and took out a slip of paper and held out it towards Naruto.

Naruto took the paper and looked at it with a confused expression on his face, "Huh? What are we gonna confirm with a piece of paper?"

Kakashi sighed and took out another paper and held it between his index finger and his middle finger, "These papers are made from special trees that are fed and nurtured with chakra, they'll react to the slightest amount of chakra, with the help of this we will be able to find out which chakra nature that fits you the best".

Naruto looked like a living question mark, "Huh, chakra natures?"

Kakashi sighed again before he continued, "Have you ever wondered how Fire Style jutsus can be used? The ninjas that's able to use fire chakra nature is able to transform their chakra into fire, or they can just use their chakra in order to manipulate fire around them".

Kakashi then held the index finger on his other hand, "There are five basic chakra natures, fire, earth, wind, water and lightning, shinobis are usually born with just one and then might master one or two more during their lifetimes, a rare few are able to master all of them. However a few rare shinobis are born with two elements at the same time, like Zabusa's partner Haku who possessed the Ice Style, which most likely a combination of water nature and wind nature, these special natures are called kekkei genkai".

Naruto looked at Kakashi shocked and amazed before he looked at his paper and then turned his eyes back to Kakashi, "So then, how are we gonna find out what my chakra nature is?"

Kakashi didn't say anything for a few seconds and then Naruto gasped in shock when he saw how the paper Kakashi held between his fingers wrinkled, "If you have lightning nature like me, then the paper will wrinkle like mine just did, if you have if earth, then the paper will crumble, if you have water then it will get soaked, if you have fire then it will burn up, and finally if you have wind, then it will be cut. Now concentrate on gathering chakra in your hand that's holding the paper, and then we'll find out".

Naruto looked at the paper with a determined expression on his face, "Alright then, let's do this!" Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated on gathering chakra in his right hand, he kept focusing, then he suddenly heard a loud tearing sound. He quickly opened his eyes and saw that the paper had almost been torn almost in half.

Kakashi nodded his head, "Alright, now we know that your nature is wind, the wind chakra is able to slice and tear anything, which makes it perfect for battle".

Naruto got a shocked expression on his face before a huge grin appeared on his face, "Really?" Naruto then started jumping on the spot in excitement, "Alright, I knew that I was awesome!"

Kakashi held up his hand, "Calm down Naruto, we have just discovered what you're chakra nature is, which means that your true nature manipulation training begins right now".

Naruto stopped jumping and looked at Kakashi confused, "Nature manipulation? You mean like transforming my chakra in to wind, like you explained earlier with fire?"

Kakashi nodded his head, "That's right, also the same thing with water, once you have mastered it, then I'll teach you some Wind Style jutsus, however since I'm sure you still don't really understand the true destructive power of the wind nature chakra, I'll have someone who is a wind user show you, wait here and I'll go and get him". The next moment so did Kakashi vanish.

A LITTLE WHILE LATER,

Naruto sat on top of the pole he had been tied to, he then heard two pair of feet coming towards him and looked to his right and saw Kakashi coming towards him again with a man with spiky black hair and a black beard and with a cigarette in his mouth.

Naruto jumped down from the pole and looked at the man shocked, "Asuma Sensei? You have the wind nature as well?"

The man whose name was Asuma looked at Naruto with a smile, "Yeah that's right, I must admit that I was shocked when Kakashi came to my apartment and asked me to help you since you also have the wind nature".

Asuma looked around before he looked at Kakashi, "Let's go in to the forest and find a good place so I can properly show him what the wind nature chakra is capable of".

Kakashi nodded his head before he looked at Naruto, "Follow us Naruto". Naruto looked at both of them confused but nodded his head and followed both of the jonins in to the forest.

After walking for at most a few minutes so did Asuma suddenly stop walking and looked around and then suddenly focused his eyes on a tree with a large boulder behind it.

Asuma got a smirk on his face as he opened his pouch, "Yes, this is perfect to show Naruto what the wind nature is capable of". He then pulled out what looked like trench knives with four holes in them below the blades.

Asuma placed his fingers in to the holes of one of the trench blades and held it up in front of Naruto, "These are my chakra blades, they are made of a special metal that allows them to not only channel the chakra of the user through them, but they can also absorb the chakra nature of the user, which can make them the origin of a jutsu for the user".

Naruto looked at him with an expression of complete confusion on his face, Asuma chuckled, "I guess I'll show you what I mean".

Naruto then gasped in shock when he saw how a thin layer of chakra formed around the blade, Naruto watches as the chakra flowed like a saw blade around it. Asuma then turned towards the tree with the boulder behind it, "Now watch closely Naruto".

Asuma then took and threw the chakra blade towards it. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw how the chakra blade easily tore through the tree and then crashed in to the boulder and smashed it to pieces.

Asuma looked at Naruto who had an expression of complete shock on his face with a smile on his face, "If you infuse weapons with wind nature chakra, you can easily cut through stone, or smash it like I just did, you'll also be able to cut through metal easily as well.

Naruto's shocked expression changed to one of pure excitement, "Awesome! That was so amazing! I will train as hard I can until I'm able to do that as well".

Asuma chuckled before he held out his other chakra blade towards Naruto, "Alright, first let's see how well you're able to channel your chakra through my chakra blade".

Naruto nodded his head and grabbed the chakra blade and placed his fingers of his right hand in the holes and placed the blade on his knuckles, he then closed his eyes and focused and started to gather chakra at the blade, he opened his eyes and looked at the blade and narrowed his eyes when he didn't see any chakra surrounding the blade, he gritted his teeth and focused on gathering more chakra.

Naruto then saw how a thin layer of chakra moving around the blade, however instead of looking like a saw blade, it moved like large waves, Naruto groaned, "It doesn't really look like yours did".

Asuma chuckled, "Well, I've had many years of training, you have just learned about the different chakra natures, not to mention that your chakra control is not that great yet, considering how much you needed in order to gather chakra in the blade".

Asuma looked at Naruto and held up the index finger on his right hand, "As for wind nature chakra, when you gather it, imagine that your chakra is split into two halves that's grinding against each other, and once they've sharpened each other in to thin, fine pieces, you rejoin them again".

Naruto got a confused expression on his face, "Thin and sharp?" He then looked down at the chakra blade and then after a few seconds so widened he his eyes, "You mean like a blade?"

Asuma nodded his head with a smile, "That's right, shape it as thin and sharp as possible".

Kakashi walked over to them, "In other words, wind nature chakra is really good for close and mid range battle, however, if you're going to master wind nature chakra, you could use a main weapon similar to Asuma's chakra blades".

Asuma placed a hand on his chin, "Hmm, the one who made me my chakra blades owes me a favor, so I could ask him to make Naruto a weapon of the same metal as my chakra blades".

Kakashi nodded his head, "Thanks Asuma, now let's think, I think that the weapon that might suit Naruto best might be a slightly shortened chokuto sword, I think that with some training Naruto will be able to handle it quite well".

Asuma nodded his head, "Alright, I'll see what I can do about it". Kakashi nodded his head and thanked Asuma again before Asuma vanished.

Kakashi then turned towards Naruto who looked at him, "Now, the first level of training you should do in order to master the wind nature is cutting leaf".

Naruto looked at him confused, "Cutting leaf?" Kakashi nodded his head, "Yeah, you'll hold a leaf between your hands and then you'll try and cut the leaf with just your chakra".

Naruto looked at Kakashi with a troubled expression, "It sounds like this training is gonna take a really long time".

Kakashi looked at him, "Normally it would take quite a bit of time, I won't deny it, however you're lucky that you know the one trick that will allow you to shorten the training time".

Naruto got a confused expression on his face, "Huh? What are you talking about? If I knew a trick like that, don't you think I would've used it long ago?"

Kakashi sighed tired before he spoke again, "I'm talking about the Shadow Clone jutsu that you know, it's an B-rank technique, and that's for several reasons, and one of them is because that anything that the clones learn is transferred back to the original once the clone is either destroyed or the jutsu is released, which is why this jutsu in the past was used to explore dangerous terrains or sent on missions to search for enemy shinobis".

Naruto widened his eyes in shock when he heard that, "Really? The Shadow Clone jutsu is that awesome? I've never noticed that during the times I've used it".

Kakashi nodded his head, "You have unconsciously received the information from the Shadow Clones but never used it because you never noticed it, now let's both make a Shadow Clone each and then they will do something out of our view of sight and then you'll tell me what they did".

Naruto got a smirk on his face, "Got it!" He then crossed the index and middle fingers on both hands so they formed a cross, "Shadow Clone jutsu!" The next second, a second Naruto appeared next to him.

Kakashi then also crossed the index fingers and middle fingers on both his hands, "Shadow Clone jutsu". A second Kakashi appeared next to him. Kakashi's Shadow Clone then told Naruto's Shadow Clone to follow him and they went deeper in to the forest.

A LITTLE WHILE LATER,

Kakashi's Shadow clone stopped walking and looked behind him, "This should be far enough". Kakashi then took out a kunai and turned towards Naruto, "Now, let's clash a little".

Naruto's Shadow Clone nodded his head and took out a kunai as well, he then leaned forward and ran towards Kakashi in high speed, he then jumped towards Kakashi and swung his kunai at him.

Kakashi's Shadow Clone easily blocked Naruto's Shadow Clone's kunai with his own, however, Naruto's Shadow Clone got a grin on his face and grabbed Kakashi's Shadow Clone's arm and used it to launch himself under his legs so he got behind him.

Naruto's Shadow Clone quickly threw his kunai at Kakashi's Shadow Clone's back, however Kakashi's Shadow Clone with ease caught the kunai with his free hand.

Kakashi's Shadow Clone then turned towards Naruto's Shadow Clone, "Alright I think that should be enough, now let's release the jutsu". Naruto's Shadow Clone nodded his head and then both of them crossed the index fingers and the middle fingers on their hands before of them disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

AT THE SAME TIME,

Naruto gasped in shock before he chuckled, "I know what our clones did, both of them pulled out a kunai and fought with them, then after distracting your clone with a frontal attack my clone snuck behind yours by sliding between your clone's legs and then tried to hit you from behind, however your clone caught the kunai that mine threw".

Kakashi gave Naruto a one-eyed smile, "Exactly, while it's true that the Shadow Clones are useful in battle, it's one of the most useful techniques when it comes to gathering information since the original will learn what the clone learned once it disappears".

Kakashi then held up his right index finger, "Anyway, let's say that that you train with one clone, then the training time is cut in half, if you use two clones then the time gets cut to a third part of the time, and so if you make nine clones so there is ten of you then the time becomes a tenth part of what it of what it normally would take".

A huge grin appeared on Naruto's face, "I get it now". He then placed his hands behind his head, "Since you know how to use Shadow Clones, you must've used them when you trained right? That would explain why you're so strong Kakashi Sensei".

Kakashi closed his eye, "While I can understand why you would think that, that's not true, because of the amount of chakra and stamina I have, I can't maintain it for long or use it to its full potential by using many clones since my chakra is equally divided between me and my clones. In fact, with amount of chakra and stamina you have, you're the only one I know who can pull off this kind of training".

Naruto looked at Kakashi shocked, "Really? I have that much more chakra than you?" Kakashi nodded his head, "A little more than four times as much chakra as me".

Naruto got a huge smile on his face, "Really, that much? Man I really am awesome". He then gasped in shock and then looked down at the ground, _I wonder, if I could control the Nine-Tails power, how much power would I have?_

Kakashi looked at Naruto confused, "Naruto? Are you okay?"

Naruto gasped again before he quickly looked at Kakashi with a smile, "Yeah I'm fine, so you want me to use my Shadow Clones to shorten the time of my training to master wind nature manipulation right?"

Kakashi nodded his head, "That's right, also while I know you can make an almost insane amount of Shadow Clones, I want you to at most use 20 clones, also when you train to learn a new jutsu, I would like if you didn't really use any clones at all unless it's a difficult one, then you can use up to three clones, also I think you should continue practicing the tree climbing exercise in order to continue to improve your chakra control".

Naruto nodded, "Got it Sensei, I will train the way you have instructed me as often as I can".

Kakashi nodded his head, "Good, I would suggest that you do most of your training here so I will know where you are when I decide to check how it's going for you, and like I said, once you have managed to completely tear the leaves in half, I'll show you some good Wind Style jutsus, however I have a pretty good jutsu I think would fit you quite well that you can practice right now". Naruto looked at Kakashi confused while his sensei once again gave him a one-eyed smile.

 **Naruto who is troubled over how useless he was against Haku decided to walk through the village to clear his head, there he ran in to his Sensei Kakashi who asked what was troubling him and Naruto told him, Kakashi then decided to help train him but before that he needed to find out what chakra nature Naruto had. After testing he found out that Naruto's chakra nature is wind, after that Kakashi asked Asuma to help him show Naruto how destructive the wind nature chakra can be if used correctly. Kakashi then explained to him the advantage of using Shadow Clones since everything the clones learn and the experience they gain returns to the original. What's going to happen next? Continue reading to find out and please review.**


	2. Training match

Naruto the Swift Blade

 **Last time, Naruto Uzumaki was worried about how useless he had been during the battle against Haku and how his teammate Sasuke Uchiha could've died. Then he met his Sensei Kakashi Hatake who noticed that Naruto was troubled over something. Once he found out what troubled him, Kakashi promised to train him in order to get stronger. He then discovered that Naruto's chakra nature is wind, what's going to happen next?**

Chapter 2- Training match

Naruto and Sasuke was sitting on the back of a large carriage while keeping guard while Sakura was sitting next to the merchant they were supposed to guard while he was driving the carriage.

Naruto looked around with a serious expression, "Kakashi Sensei is watching from afar right?" He asked Sasuke while trying to see anyone or sense any presence around him.

Sasuke nodded his head, "That's right, he said it wasn't sure if the bandits that threatened Mr Tanaki will actually ambush him, however if he does, he wants to see how we're able to deal with it, and come up with a new training session for us based on it". Sasuke answered as he also tried to notice any presence.

Sasuke then looked at Naruto with a suspicious expression on his face, "Also, what have you been up to these past six weeks?"

Naruto looked at him with a confused expression on his face when he heard that, "What do you mean Sasuke? I haven't really done anything".

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Don't play dumb Naruto, well… dumber than you really are I mean". Naruto narrowed his eyes in anger at Sasuke's cruel remark before Sasuke continued, "During these past six weeks, you have improved your skills greatly, also…" He looked at the handle of the chokuto sword sticking out over Naruto's right shoulder, "Where did you get that Chokuto?"

Naruto looked at the handle that was sticking out over his shoulder before he looked at Sasuke again, "Where I got it doesn't really matter, right?" Naruto stared in to Sasuke's eyes as he said that. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked away.

Naruto continued to try and sense presences around them, he thought back to the training sessions he had had with Kakashi, he and his clones had managed to cut the leaves in half after about a week.

After that, Asuma had informed them that the shortened Chokuto had been completed, and after that Kakashi had trained him in using the chokuto in battle. Naruto had noticed that Kakashi seemed to be really familiar in using a sword.

While Naruto had never even gotten close to getting in a hit on Kakashi, he had been told by a happy Kakashi that he got a bit better during each training sessions.

Naruto got a smile on his face as he continued thinking about the training sessions, Kakashi had taught him a few new jutsus, including one that he especially liked. He couldn't wait to try it in battle for real.

Naruto then widened his eyes as he sensed something. He looked at Sasuke and saw the serious expression on his face, which meant that he had also sensed the same thing.

Naruto and Sasuke both jumped off of the carriage and ran next to it and ran up to the driver's seat and looked at Sakura, "Sakura! We've got company!" Naruto cried out to Sakura who got a worried expression on her face while she pulled out a kunai.

The moment after she had pulled out her kunai, ten bandits jumped out of the few trees in front of them and then ten more appeared behind them as well.

Naruto turned around and then he and Sasuke stood back to back while watching the bandits who pulled out their swords and daggers. Naruto grabbed his chokuto and pulled it out and held it in front of himself.

One of the bandits lifted his dagger and said with a confident tone in his voice, "Kids, don't do anything foolish, even if you're ninjas, we're outnumber you, 20 to 3, just leave, we'll just take the merchant's goods and leave".

Sasuke got a confident smirk on his face before he slightly turned his head towards Naruto, "He's right Naruto, they do outnumber us, so what do you say about that we even out the odds a little?"

Naruto got a smirk on his face as he understood Sasuke's message and changed his grip on his chokuto so he could cross his index and middle fingers, "Shadow Clone jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed and then ten clones of Naruto appeared around the original holding chokutos as well.

The bandits got shocked when they saw the multiple clones of Naruto, which made them unprepared when all ten clones and Naruto and Sasuke jumped towards the bandits.

The bandit that had spoken recovered from his shock and managed to block the real Naruto's chokuto with his own sword. After clashing with the swords for a few seconds, the bandit said with confident voice once again, "Is that all you got boy?"

Naruto didn't answer and just looked around himself, five of his clones fought the bandits on his side while the other five fought next to Sasuke.

Naruto then heard a poof next to him which meant him which meant that one of his clones had been taken down, from the knowledge he gained from it, it had taken down one of the bandits before getting stabbed in the side by a dagger using bandit.

The bandit in front of him chuckled, "You kids should've run when you had the chance boy, now we'll have to kill all three of you".

Naruto however got a smirk on his face, "I don't think so". The bandit narrowed his eyes and pushed back Naruto's sword and lifted his sword in order to cut his head in half.

Naruto narrowed his eyes while, he focused and concentrated on his sword, forming a thin layer of chakra around his chokuto. Both of them swung their swords and the bandit's eyes widened in shock when his sword got cut in half.

The bandit looked at his sword shocked for a second before he looked at Naruto who had a smirk on his face before he jumped up in the air and delivered a hard kick to the bandit's face, knocking him out cold.

Naruto looked around and saw that the clones on his side had taken down four more bandits. He looked at Sasuke and saw how they had also taken down five bandits. He was relieved that the bandits had been too shocked to react quickly which was what had hoped would happen, if he had been wrong, then he would've created more clones.

Naruto then took and placed his chokuto on his back again and began making hand signs as he started dodging a bandit who tried to slash and stab him with his dagger, "Tora, mi, hitsuji". Naruto mumbled as he made the tiger, snake and ram hand signs, "Wind Style, Divine Down Current!"

A vortex of wind appeared in front of that sucked up the bandit that tried to stab him with his dagger, which then moved towards the remaining four bandits on his side which caused his clones to jump backwards and the other four bandits got sucked up in to the vortex.

Naruto and his clones shielded their faces, after a few seconds so did the vortex disappear and the five bandits fell to the ground completely dizzy.

The remaining bandits had stopped fighting Sasuke and Naruto's other clones and stared at Naruto shocked. Sasuke used their in shock to his advantage and he and the clones took them all down.

Naruto then crossed his index and middle fingers with a smirk on his face and released his Shadow Clone jutsu and the remaining nine clones disappeared.

Naruto then walked towards Sasuke with a smile but then he got a shocked expression on his face when he saw Sasuke glaring at him with narrowed eyes.

Sakura jumped down from the driver seat and looked at Naruto with a shocked expression, "Naruto, did you just use a Wind Style jutsu?" She just couldn't believe that Naruto, who had been the clown on their class, could use Wind Style.

Naruto nodded his head with a smile, "That's right, I have been training really hard since our battle against Zabusa and Haku, and I learned that my chakra nature is wind".

Sakura just continued to stare at Naruto shocked while Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly more, they then heard a voice from behind Sasuke and Sakura, "Really good work you guys".

All three of them turned around and saw Kakashi who was currently tying up the ten bandits behind them, once he was done so jumped he over his students and began to tie up the remaining ten bandits.

When Kakashi had finished tying up the bandits so turned he towards his students, "Alright, the village that we were supposed to escort Mr Tanaki is not far. Let's get there and inform the guards there about the bandits".

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura nodded their heads and they continued their way towards the next village while leaving the bandits but not before tying all of them to the trees next to the road.

A FEW HOURS LATER,

Kakashi and his students were walking on the road in order to get back to the Hidden Leaf Village. They had successfully escorted Mr Tanaki to the village he was supposed to travel to.

Naruto was walking right next to Kakashi and talked with him, asking him what kind of training he was planning for them in order to improve their skills.

Sakura looked at Sasuke with pink cheeks with a bright smile on her face, "Hey Sasuke, do you want to go on a date with me after we get back to the village?"

However Sasuke didn't answer and just looked down at the ground with a serious expression on his face. He then suddenly stopped walking and stared at Naruto's back.

Sakura stopped walking as well and looked at Naruto as well before she looked at Sasuke again with a confused expression, "Sasuke? What's wrong?"

Kakashi and Naruto had heard Sakura's question and stopped walking and turned around and looked at Sasuke who continued to look at Naruto. Naruto got a confused expression on his face, "What? Why are you looking at me like that Sasuke?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes a little more, "Naruto, Kakashi Sensei has been training you, hasn't he?" Naruto's eyes widened in shock and Sakura looked at Naruto and Kakashi with a shocked expression on her face.

Kakashi closed his eye and nodded his head, "That's correct Sasuke, Naruto was a bit concerned about his performance in your battle against Haku and asked me for help. I then took and tested what chakra nature Naruto had in order to find out which jutsus would mostly fit him".

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked at the meadow field for a second before looked at Kakashi, "Kakashi Sensei, can I have a practice match with Naruto right now before we return to the village?"

Naruto and Sakura got a shocked expression on their faces. Naruto looked at Kakashi and saw that Kakashi had a thoughtful look on his masked face. He then looked down at Naruto, "Well Naruto, it would be a good opportunity to test how much you've really improved, however it is your decision in the end if you want to".

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a smirk on his face, "Sure, why not? I have wanted to have a practice match with Sasuke for a while, however he always tells me to get lost since he doesn't have time since he needed to train".

Kakashi nodded his head before all four of them walked out in to the meadow. Naruto and Sasuke stood across from each other fifty feet from each other.

Sakura looked at Kakashi with a concerned expression on his face, "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean even if Naruto has gotten a bit stronger, he still won't be able to beat Sasuke and he might get hurt". She was really confident that Naruto wouldn't stand a chance against Sasuke and was a little concerned that Sasuke might go a little too far and hurt Naruto.

Kakashi looked down at her with a serious look in his eye, "Sakura, because of how obsessed you are with Sasuke, you barely pay attention to all the effort Naruto puts in to the things he does, something I've noticed since I became your sensei. Because of that, you don't know about the potential Naruto has, trust me, while Sasuke might win, it won't be easy for him". Kakashi said with a serious tone before he looked at his two students while Sakura did the same while she had a disbelieving expression on her face.

Naruto took out four shuriken and threw them at Sasuke. Sasuke just got a smirk on his face and grabbed four of his own shurikens and threw them in order to knock Naruto's shurikens out of the air.

Naruto quickly began to make hand signs, "Ushi, inu, tatsu, ne, inu, I, mi, tora". Naruto mumbled as he made the ox, dog, dragon, rat, dog, boar, snake and tiger signs, "Ninja art, Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Naruto's four shurikens then became twenty shurikens. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock when he saw all of the shurikens, four of them got knocked out of the air, however the remaining sixteen continued towards him.

Sasuke quickly dodged the shurikens before they could hit him, "You've learned the Shuriken Shadow Clone jutsu as well?" Sasuke couldn't believe it since it was a A-rank jutsu.

However he then got shocked when he saw that Naruto had just reached him and swung a kunai at him. Sasuke quickly jumped backwards while he pulled out a kunai of his own.

Sasuke and Naruto jumped towards each other and their kunais clashed with each other, the two boys tried to overpower the other one for a few seconds before they jumped away.

Sasuke ran towards Naruto while he threw his kunai at him. Naruto gritted his teeth and blocked the kunai, however he couldn't react in time to block the punch he got to his stomach.

Naruto was sent flying to the ground, however while he fell he crossed his index and middle fingers and three clones appeared. The clones ran towards Sasuke while Naruto got up on a knee and began making hand signs, "Mi, hitsuji, I, uma, tori". Naruto mumbled as he made the snake, ram, boar, horse and bird hand signs before he clapped his hands together and winds started gathering around his hands.

Sasuke dodged the clones and destroyed them with a few well placed kicks. However he didn't notice that Naruto had rushed towards him before he was right in front of him.

Naruto pulled both of his arms backwards, "Wind Style, Gale Palm!" He pushed both of his arms forward and unleashed a strong gust of wind that hit Sasuke and sent him flying backwards. Sasuke rolled the ground a few feet before he managed to get back on his feet.

Sasuke looked at Naruto and saw how he threw three more shurikens. He narrowed his eyes and jumped up in the air to dodge them. He then looked at where Naruto had been standing, however he saw to his shock that he was gone.

He then heard Naruto's voice behind him, "What are you looking at Sasuke?" Sasuke looked behind him and saw Naruto behind him, not only that, but the position of Naruto's body was the exact like his, his right knee forward and his left elbow pulled back a little.

Naruto looked at him with a smirk before he threw a punch at Sasuke. Sasuke quickly turned around and blocked the punch before both of them landed on the ground and jumped away from each other.

Sakura looked at them shocked, she had believed that the match would've ended by now, "How is Naruto keeping up with Sasuke this well? Also what was that last move that Naruto used?"

Kakashi looked at her, "That last move he used is called Dancing Leaf Shadow. It's a technique that allows you to appear behind an airborne enemy like you're their shadow. While normally harmless on its own, it's usually used as the stepping stone for a few devastating taijutsu techniques, which is why they usually use Dancing Leaf Shadow after kicking the opponent in to the air which leaves them open for an attack for a short while".

Sakura looked at Kakashi shocked before she turned back to the battle and saw both of her teammates had started gasping since they were starting to get tired.

Naruto crossed his index and middle fingers, "Shadow Clone Jutsu". Five clones of Naruto appeared. Naruto and his clones ran towards Sasuke.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and began making hand signs, "Ne, tora, inu, ushi, u, tora". Sasuke mumbled as he made the rat, tiger, dog, ox, rabbit and tiger hand signs.

"Fire Style, Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" He then inhaled and unleashed a volley of small fire ball that flew towards Naruto and his clones. The fire balls hit the clones and destroyed them while Naruto jumped back and forth and to the sides while he did his best to avoid them.

Naruto landed on the ground after avoiding the last fire ball and looked up and saw that Sasuke was once again making hand signs and saw him end with the tiger seal.

Sasuke inhaled deeply while he placed the thumb and index finger on his right hand together so they formed a small ring in front of his mouth, "Fire Style, Fire Ball jutsu!" Sasuke then unleashed a massive fire ball from his mouth towards Naruto.

Naruto gritted his teeth and jumped to the right t avoid it. Once he landed on the ground, he saw how Sasuke ran towards him.

Naruto waited until the last second and dodged Sasuke's left hook, however he then received an uppercut from Sasuke's right fist which sent him flying to the ground.

Naruto groaned and slowly sat up, only to gasp in shock when he saw Sasuke holding an kunai aimed at his throat. He looked up and saw to his shock that Sasuke's eyes had turned red with a circle outside of the pupils with two tomoe symbols on the rings.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, _Of course, he must've used his Sharingan in order to predict how I would dodge his punch which is why he was prepared with that uppercut,_ Naruto thought to himself feeling a little frustrated.

Kakashi walked over to them, "Alright, this practice match is now over". He looked at Sasuke who had a bitter expression on his face while he deactivated his Sharingan and removed the kunai from Naruto's throat.

Naruto slowly got up and then after a few seconds held out his right hand while he held out his index and middle finger. Sasuke looked at him shocked for a second and saw how a smile appeared on Naruto's face.

Sasuke sighed before a smirk appeared on his face before he held out his on index and middle finger and linked them with Naruto. Sakura looked at both of them shocked, she had never seen them do the Seal of Reconciliation before after one of their practice matches.

Kakashi nodded his head satisfied before he turned around, "Good, now that that's finished, let's continue on our way back home". His students looked at him and nodded their heads.

Naruto then walked next to Kakashi and looked at him, "What is your opinion of my practice match against Sasuke Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto wanted to hear what Kakashi's opinion about the match to see what he could improve.

Kakashi looked down at him for a second with a wide eye before he looked up, "Hmm, both you and Sasuke got in some good hits on each other before Sasuke activated his Sharingan in order to end the match, so I would say that he's only a bit better and stronger than you now without his Sharingan".

Naruto looked down with a serious expression on his face, "Yeah, he gained the upper hand as soon as he activated his Kekkei Genkai, I'll need to learn how to fight against things like that".

Kakashi looked at him and chuckled a little, "It's good that you're really serious about your training, however what you're talking about takes a long time of training, don't be impatient, you have come really far in a short time". Kakashi had a proud tone in his voice when he said that.

Naruto looked at Kakashi with a happy smile on his face, "Thanks Kakashi Sensei". Naruto looked in front of him with a smile on his face, _For now, I'm gonna focus on surpassing Sasuke while he's not using his Sharingan, then I'll be thinking about how to deal with his Sharingan._ Naruto thought to himself while wanting to get back to the village so he could get back to training and master more of the Wind Style jutsus he had been shown, Kakashi had promised him that once he had mastered them, he might teach him a few Water Style jutsus as well teach him about combined jutsus.

 **So, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura managed to protect the merchant whose name was Tanaki, Sasuke who had noticed how much Naruto had improved since their battle against Haku and Zabusa wanted a practice match. Both of them managed to get in a few good hits on each other before Sasuke used his Sharingan to finally end the match, what's going to happen next? Continue reading to find out and please review.**


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